The Houston Rockets won their NBA Western Conference playoff series on Friday with a crushing 115-107 victory over the Golden State Warriors, setting up a game-seven showdown.
When they play Game Seven on Sunday, the Rockets will try to become the only team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA playoff game.
The Rockets, who led the majority of the game and suffocated an 18, 000-strong crowd at the Warriors’ Chase Center arena with an explosive fourth quarter, put together a 12-0 scoring run in the final frame to increase their lead to as many as 17 points, added Alperen Sengun, who added 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Houston’s Amen Thompson added 14 points, and veteran New Zealand big man Steven Adams added 17 as a standout defensive presence by connecting on four of four from the floor.
As the Rockets controlled the Warriors’ potent offence led by Stephen Curry, Adams had three of Houston’s five blocked shots.
Curry had a 29-point game, but he only had nine of his 23 field goals and five turnovers.
No other Warriors starter scored in double figures, despite Jimmy Butler, who added 27 points.
As the Rockets jumped out to a two-point lead in the fourth quarter, VanVleet remarked, “Just make everything tough.” We are aware of what they bring to the table, of course.
You want to make everything competitive and difficult, but I just believe our youth and athleticism can inflict some pressure on them over the course of the game, and we’ve had some success lately.
The Warriors started off a slightly better start in game five on Friday, but in a nip-and-tuck first quarter with 10 lead changes, Houston were up 25-21 at the end of the first period.
With 1:15 remaining in the first half, the Rockets fought back to take the lead to 53-48 after the Warriors forced 11 of their 17 turnovers. A Curry three-pointer tied the game at 46-46.
Our ball security is the key to the series, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
In a sign of what was to come, VanVleet made the first three-pointer in the opening seconds, drawing a foul, and making the free throw. Houston led 86-84 going in.
“I thought the crucial play was a four-point play to begin the (fourth) quarter,” Kerr said. VanVleet knocks it down and receives the free throw, which we didn’t guard because it was thrown up the floor by someone else, which felt game-changing.
In a two-point game, Draymond Green continued, “We can’t give up a four-point play.”
Adams, 31, who had 31 minutes on the floor during Kerr’s tenure, was also praised.
“Kerr said, “Adams was fantastic tonight. While he was away, they kept the game under control.
Adams, a low-percentage free-throw shooter, was fouled by the Warriors, who managed to rebound from a few of his misses anyway.
Source: Aljazeera
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